Do my neighbors make me sick ...

[Woody]

This is a serious post. I am wondering if my neighbors are making my wife and I sick. I hope you can help me. My wife has been getting vertigo and headaches. Both of us have been sick several times since moving to this house. Do you know if our neighbors could be making us sick. Please see the photo below of our neighbors. You can see our house just behind the trees on the right at the base of the big power line.

My wife did 'some' research' on power lines and there seemed to be some evidence that it could. Does anyone have any knowledge about my neighbors and illness?

[Cosmin M.]

Neighbors could be doing some unhealthy habits which affects you and your wife. Or radiation could be a cause. I recommend seeing a doctor.

[Bravus]

The scientific evidence on the effect of high-voltage power lines on health is still very patchy indeed and not conclusive. There is a lot of folklore but not much science. Will have a bit more of a dig and see what I can find out for you guys.

[Woody]

Thank you very much Bravus. We are very worried. Appreciate any info you can give.

[Bravus]

This report is a good summary: http://www.hps.org/hpspublications/articles/powerlines.html

It's typically cautious scientific language, but also suggests that if anything slightly elevated probabilities of leukemia, depending on other risk factors, would be the only likely (weakly supported) risk. That's completely different from any kinds of temporary sicknesses Blanche might be getting.

So if it *is* something environmental I'd be looking closer to home at things like dustmites or pet dander or other allergens inside the house.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Your "neighbors" could be the cause of the vertigo and headaches, though I'm not an expert. Not much you can do, though, unless you want to move to a another house in a different "neighborhood."

ALTHOUGH, I do know of a physician (MD) who swears that vitamin E will help counteract the effects of electromagnetic radiation, and radiation in general. He prescribes vit.E to all his patients prior to their having any sort of radiologic procedure, including CT, Nuclear Medicine, and general xray.

[phkrause]

I guess one thing to do is move to a motel for a few days or weeks and see if there is a difference!

pk

[Gail]

Whoa, Redwood, and you have that nice covered bridge on the other end of the property, don't you?

[Woody]

Thanks Bravus. This is REALLY good news. I am so relieved. I am inclined to believe this report.

I've emailed this to Blanche as she is at some conference executive committee meeting and won't be home till late.

I appreciate it. And I am sure Blanche will be also when she gets a chance to read it.

[Woody]

Your "neighbors" could be the cause of the vertigo and headaches, though I'm not an expert. Not much you can do, though, unless you want to move to a another house in a different "neighborhood."

ALTHOUGH, I do know of a physician (MD) who swears that vitamin E will help counteract the effects of electromagnetic radiation, and radiation in general. He prescribes vit.E to all his patients prior to their having any sort of radiologic procedure, including CT, Nuclear Medicine, and general xray.

Cool. I will suggest this to Blanche. Thanks.

[Woody]

Whoa, Redwood, and you have that nice covered bridge on the other end of the property, don't you?

Yes. The photo here shows the side and front of our house. The bridge is in the back. It is actually UNDER the power lines and the power company keeps it clear. We have kinda invaded that land since they don't use it.

[Woody]

I should point out ... that the poppy fields are on the opposite side of the house. Now you know ALL about me and all sides. I thought I should do this in honor of Paul Harvey. Full Disclosure.

[GreatLakesGramma]

Redwood, how close to your house are these "neighbors"? How long have you lived close to them? And how long have you been having the problems?

Our bodies actually have electrical currents in them. Electrocution kills because it does the same thing in your body that a power surge will do to your computer. On a lesser scale, anything that interferes with your body's electrical current is going to have some effect on your health. All the experts can really say at this point is they haven't proven it can cause the kind of problems you have. But they have NOT proven it is safe either.

Just like any other factor that can influence one's health, some people are more sensitive than others. Those high-power lines could be the cause of all the health issues you have been having.

There are also other factors that could be present too. How old is your house? Does it have new carpeting, cabinetry, flooring, foam insulation, or other chemical-containing components? Most such items nowadays are made with materials loaded with toxic chemicals, and it takes about 9 years for them to finish out-gassing. In some European countries,they are very aware of "sick building syndrome",and their building codes require the use of healthier materials.

An acquaintance of ours nearly died after moving into a brand new double-wide mobile home, from the out-gassing chemicals. I was seriously poisoned by the polyurethane floor finish put on our hardwood floors when we built the bedroom addition on our house. (My rubber plant that I had had for years, sitting right next to the doorway into the addition, died.) No one else in my family was so seriously affected. My mother had to have all carpeting removed from her house, and she had to move out until all the dust reside from the foam pads was thoroughly cleaned from the entire house.

Mold & mildew can also cause health issues. Do you have a wet basement? How about your attic? Has the roof ever leaked? Have you ever looked up there to see if there's anything unhealthy up there? Friends of ours had their house inspected by the health department because of health problems they had been having ever since they'd moved there. They had to move out immediately, and leave almost everything behind. Their furniture, appliances, and electronics were too contaminated with the spores of the black mold infesting their house to be saved.

I don't know what is in our well water, but I began having problems a couple of weeks after moving in. I had no idea it had anything to do with the water until I'd been drinking purchased purified water for 1 1/2 year, then switched back. I immediately became quite sick again. Whatever is in our water, it isn't any of the things they test for when you put in a new well. But it immediately makes me nauseated if I drink any of it.

I suggest you get one of those meters that measure electromagnetic radiation and find out just how high it is inside your house. Also, consider having your house inspected by the health department. And try drinking purified water for several months. It seems that there is something present there that is affecting your health. It could be a combination of factors.

[carolaa]

Or you might want to move before you do any of those things. Because anything you find out, you'll have to disclose to future buyers.

[carolaa]

OK, for the record, I said that partly tongue-in-cheek.

[Bravus]

Yeah, I was gonna say that unfortunately if they own the house the *perception* that powerlines are dangerous may well drop the resale value.

[Joe_in_RP]

I agree with Bravus. I have been looking for evidence of powerline health problems for years. I have never found it.

I would have the water checked. If it is copper it could be leaching.

[Woody]

Thanks all ... we moved into this 40 year old house last June. Before moving in ... I had the most extensive water testing available. It all checked out.

If you look at the base of the big power line and behind the evergreen trees ... you can see our house. We are right up against the tall power line .... the supports are actually onto our property. It is as close as one could get.

I like the idea of getting a meter to see how much we are getting in the house. Where would one get such a meter?

[GreatLakesGramma]

My mother has one. I'll find out & let you know.

[GreatLakesGramma]

I also wanted to add a little more to the subject of disruption of our body's electrical currents.

I have a nurse practitioner friend who used to work at an Adventist lifestyle clinic. They had resources that suggested a connection between poor health and the wearing of metal (jewelry, watches, etc.) on the body.

One woman going through the program had 10 pairs of pierced earrings in her ears. She'd had them so long they had become embedded in her ears. This woman suffered from terrible migraines, and this was the primary reason she had come to the center. She was willing to do anything to get relief, and followed the entire program religiously. But her migraines would not go away. Finally, after the lecture on the body's electrical currents, she begged my friend to get the earrings out for her. My friend wanted to wait until the doctor was there to do it, but the woman pleaded with her until she gave in. So she found the doctor's scalpel and used it to very carefully loosen the skin around the earrings, and removed them. The woman's migraines disappeared within a short time. I don't remember the time frame, but it was within a day or two at the most.

Now, I am sure there are plenty of people out there are there with their bodies full of metal, not just in their ears, but in their navels, tongues, noses, cheeks, etc., who do not have headaches at all. Does this mean the relief the woman got was only a placebo effect? She had done everything else, expecting it to help her, and it hadn't. If it was only going to take a placebo effect to help her, it would have happened before. The more logical answer is that this woman was more sensitive than most people. Scientists and doctors would probably deny that, but they don't know everything yet. They've denied and even ridiculed a lot of things for decades and even longer, which were eventually proven to be true. If it were my health in question, I'd definitely check into the possibility.

In the same way as this woman's situation, maybe 95% of people could live so close to those high-power lines and suffer no harm at all. Then scientists would say there is no evidence it causes harm. But if you are among that other 5%......

[Jeannieb43]

Where is Erin Brockovich when you need her?!

[GreatLakesGramma]

Redwood, I asked my son, who works for my mother's bookkeeping business whenever he has a lull in his own business, and therefore sees her more than I do. He said he didn't know where my sisters bought it for my mom, but it's called a cell sensor. So try looking that up online. You should be able to find a good place to order one.

I also asked my son about his own experience. He has a sterling silver necklace he used to wear all the time. This is no little draping chain, it's a very solid, heavy-duty, close-fitting, masculine-looking thing. When my mother was using her meter to eliminate EMRs from her home, I told him the same story I've posted above. He immediately removed his necklace. He had been having headaches. So I asked him, just now, if it made any difference. He told me that it definitely did, and no one could ever convince him otherwise. Within a few hours he felt better.

Since then, from time to time he has felt like wearing his necklace, so he put it on again. Within a few hours he feels anxiety, fatigue, dizziness, and headache. Within a few minutes of removing the necklace, all symptoms disappear. He says he hasn't worn it in a while. I guess he finally decided it just wasn't worth it.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Lots of places to get the EM sensors...here's one:

electromagnetic cell sensor

(good idea, Catherine)

[Woody]

Interesting about metal and the effect on people GLG ... I had not thought of that. My Dad could not keep a watch going on his arm. His body caused it to be so electrically charged that IT quit. Don't know how it effected HIS body.

And I do have a lot of metal in me. I have 8 screws in my head. I like to joke that some times I wonder if they are loose. But please don't tell this to anyone in the politics section. They might use it against me.

And Thanks Pam. I bookmarked that.

[GreatLakesGramma]

Interesting. I wonder if there could be something passed to you from your father that would affect your reaction to electricity, or to metals. And if the metal in your head could have some kind of interaction with the EMR around you.